Positivity is the Key to Physicality

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While so many fitness articles are focused on physical action, physical diet, and physical results, they fail to acknowledge what I consider to be the true key to success: positivity. I know, I know. It’s not like positivity alone will grant you the abs you seek. But, what it will do, is act as a source of perpetual optimism and motivation. It is positivity that will drive you to succeed.

So many fail because so many fail to recognize their own accomplishments. They become bogged down in negativity while trying to better their self, and it is for this reason they ultimately fail. This negativity paradoxically becomes associated with getting better, and as a result, the individual in question soon stops trying to better their their self, because they feel crappy as a result. They associate the negative feelings with trying to get better. However, when you retain positivity as your source of motivation, when you remember what you do like about yourself as you better yourself, you have no negative association. Thus, your motivation takes care of itself, while you take care of yourself. I’ve listed some tricks below that I use on a daily basis in case you need a little inspiration:

  1. Remember three things you are grateful for. This will serve to remind you that life is already great. All you’re doing, is making it even better.
  2. Say out loud five things you love about yourself. This combats the negatives that we often become so focused on erasing when we diet and exercise. Rather than lose something, we are gaining something. This works wonders for continued motivation.
  3. Write down the habits you believe are necessary to achieve your goals. This way your routine will become ingrained in both your memory and your body. Your exercises will never be more than a thought away so long as you remind yourself of the routine necessary to achieve the body that you want.
  4. Remember the accomplishments you can already boast. It is through this that you will retain the confidence necessary to keep pushing yourself. You are more than capable; you’ve already done it. All you have to do is remember your past achievements that were more difficult to accomplish anyway. This is easy.

Remember yourself. Remember what you want. Remember who you are, and you will be what you want to be.

 

 

Raising the Internal Thermostat

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Similar to your house’s thermostat which controls the internal temperature of your home, you have what I like to call an internal thermostat that controls how far you can go in achieving your goals, especially when it comes to your self image. You see, the way a thermostat works is that once you set it, for example, to 70 degrees, the thermostat will make sure that the temperature doesn’t deviate too far from that number. The same concept happens with our internal thermostat. Once we set a certain bar regarding how fit we can be, how much weight we can lose, or how successful we can be, we will never go higher or past that bar. In other words, that bar will limit our growth to whatever we set it, and that’s not good.

As a coach working in the fitness industry for 10+ years, I can attest to the fact that the number one factor that limits people’s transformation is how they perceive themselves and what they believe about themselves. The unfortunate reality is that most people see themselves in a negative light. They feel like they can only accomplish things to a certain point, but they don’t dare to go beyond those expectations. For example, when things become challenging, people’s natural tendency is to hyper-focus on the obstacle itself instead of focusing on the bigger picture – themselves as being overachievers who can and will overcome any obstacle. Moreover, people tend to settle for less because they simply don’t know how to change their self image. Committing to improving your health or losing weight can be tough, especially if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Being disheartened by slow results or overwhelmed by confusing information is normal, I know. But don’t let that limit your expectations.

The key is to visualize yourself as achieving everything and anything you set out to do. Change whatever negative image you have of yourself and replace it with the right images, images that will motivate and inspire you to keep going. Make sure you don’t pigeonhole yourself into thinking you’ve gone as far as you can go and rise above and beyond that internal thermostat inside you. Remember, the sky’s the limit!

How You Can Pull The Plug On Your Emotional Eating

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Image of Emotional EatingOne of the best things about living in today’s society is that technology has made information infinitely more accessible that it once was. For people passionate about learning and embracing better eating habits, the data is right there at your fingertips. The answers to most of your health and fitness questions are only ever just a few clicks away. However, when it comes to our eating habits, there is usually much more at play than just logic. Emotional eating, when you consume for a purpose beyond simple sustenance, can be incredibly disastrous for any diet plan.

The most common cause of emotional eating is poorly managed stress. When there is too much on your plate, whether it be in the office or at home, you may have been conditioned to use a special treat to escape momentarily. The foods we enjoy most as distractions are, unfortunately, almost always exactly the ones that are most likely to expand our waistlines dramatically. This reflex needs to be recognized and remedied if you are serious about taking control of your health.

Stress will most certainly remain a part of every person’s life in some shape or form. We all deal with it in a regular basis. So, the question is not whether we will tackle stress, but how we will choose to do so. You can choose to face it head-on in either a negative or positive way. Choose the right way by actively embracing better ways to process stress when it pops up. Otherwise, you are liable to reflexively fall back into negative coping habits…like binge eating junk food, for example. Here are two popular, effective ways to smash those sorts of poor responses to stress in favor of much healthier options.

Get Moving

One of the tell-tale signs of stress is a heaviness on your mind. Your many responsibilities can sometimes feel like they are weighing you down, perhaps even physically. The best thing to do, then, is literally shake it off and get going. Break away from that sense of being burden by moving! This can mean going for a long walk, a jog, or even a drive. Exercising when you are stressed has two major benefits – on the one hand, you have some time and space to process the inputs that are stressing you out. On the other, chances are you will be so busy working through your thoughts that you will barely register the good things that are happening for your body with this impromptu workout. The endorphins that start pumping are an added benefit. If you cannot move yourself, then hop in the car and go for a calming drive.

Nod Your Head To Some Jams

Almost everyone loves music. The exact type of music that gets you going is likely to vary considerably from person to person, but the important thing is that you have something you enjoy. Music by itself has the power to alter your state of mind and take you away from your problems, but when you combine it with movement you are sure to leave your problems in the dust.